Machine for manufacturing and assembling filler partitions



7 l 4. 9 t om. 6 m 5 v a 2 n e G N 2 u l B M .E S S A WS AN E m KMT CIN LMP .A GPR .UL .JANAH MF R O F E N I H m M 6 4 9 l l w a y g 4 u 1 A d g u .1 A F III IHI III 1,12. INVENTOR Ju/f/ Zar/ff OR Y .NNN

Aug. 14, 1951 -v J. G. LocKE MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1946 |NVENTOR {Mzzl/, Zar/fe ATTORNEY Y Aug. 14, 1951 1 GQLQCKE 2,563,947

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Filed Aug. 28, 1946 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 14, 1951 J. G. LOCKE 2,563,947

j MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Filed Aug. 28, 1946 l2 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVEN'l-'OR ATTORNEY J; G. LOCKE MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Aug. 14, 1951 MACHINE FOR Filed Aug. 28, 1946 l2 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY J. G. L MACHINE-FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Filed Aug. 28, 1946 l2 Sheets-Sheet Aug. 14, 1951 1 @CKE 2,563,947

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 14, 1951 Q LQCKE 2,563,947

MACHINE FoR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEN/:BLING FILLER PARTITIONS Filed Aug. 28, 194e 12 sheets-sheet 'r /J ma 101- 91? 1W INVEN'l- OR Jewell df/ff BY Y Aug. 14, 1951 J. G. LocKE MACHINE F OR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Filed Aug. 28, 1946 l2 Sheets-Sheet 8 v v El TIF?? M 1 a l w a 1 7 5 au I au 2 ATTORNEY Aug. 14, 1951 J. G. LOCKE 2,563,947

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Filed Aug. 28' 1946 l2 Sheets-Sheet 9 I 20g 207 f/ 1 z5; Z0@ I ZW A Y J1 n 02 L 252? i g l il l! gt |E! 25a v ii] H11. si

/ @i 21: Zw

1 I Zjj y Il I I H m" MI 1::1 245 .H-WE gli# 195 247 l H I* l I| x 1I 'M ,47 IA l l l ilg l 292 u!! jaa E 220 zeg lil.

l INVENTOR .i2/Wil f7. [dz/W BY ATTORNEY Aug. 14, 1951 f A J. G. LocKE 2,563,947

MACHINEl FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEN/BLING v FILLER PARTITIONS l2 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed Aug. 28, 194e INVENToR l 121W!! fz [dr/ff ATTORNEY Aug. 14, 1951 J. G. LocKE V 2,563,947

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Filed Aug. 28, 1946 l2 Sheets-Sheet 1l INVENTOR ATTORNEY J. G. LocKE 2,563,947 MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Aug. 14, 1951 MACHINE FOR FileaAug. '28, 194e l2 Sheets-Sheet l2 INVENTOR fm/d] f7. 0c/fe EY 71 MMM ATTO R N EY Patented Aug. 14, 1951 MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING AND AS- SEMBLING FILLER PARTITIONS Jewell G. Locke, Lancaster, Ohio, assignor to Anchor Hocking"Glass Corporation, Lancaster, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application August 2s, 194s; serial N11-.693,500

-The present invention relates to a new yand improved machine for making fillers for use in boxes or cartons to maintain articles separated from each other.

In the glass container industry, it is customary to pack and ship a dozen or more glass articles at a time in a single. carton or box. Due to the fragile nature of thesevarticles, it is desirable that eachglass container be maintained out of contact with other containers and that it be prevented from shifting. about in the box during shipment. The separation of such fragile articles is generallyl achieved by iirst inserting into the carton or box'a iiller unit made up of intersecting cardboard or corrugated paper board partitions; the intersecting partitions form separate divisions or cells adapted to receive the articles and maintain them separated-from each other. In some instances fillers have been made and assembled by hand, which is time-consuming and expensive. In other instances machines have been devised to manufacture and assemble the partitions, but such machines have presented various objections. The present machine Vis adapted to manufacture and assemble partitions into ller units and embodies various improvements over previous machines.

Anobject of the present invention is to provide a new and improved machine for manufacturingv iiller units.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine of the class described embody-` ing a new and improved paper web feeding meching greater ilexibility with respect to the size or type or ller. units which may be manufactured on the machine,` l

Other and further objects `oi" the invention will be obvious upon'anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicatedin the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilledV in theart upon employment of the inventonin practice-H 6 claims. (o1. isi-s0) A- preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosenfor purposes of 'illustration and ie-4 scription and is shown in the accompanying.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the machine illustrated inFig. 1; Y

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3 -3 of Fig 2; Y v

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line Fig. 5 `isan explodedfragmentary perspective 1 View showing Ydetails of two filler partitions;

Fig. 6 -'is a perspective view ofone form of filler unit assembled for use in a carton; y Fig. '7 isa sectional viewalong the line 'l-l of Fig. 2; Y

Fig. 8 is a sectional `View' along the line 3--8 of Fig. 2; f l

t Fig. 9 is a sectional view along the line 9-9 of Figa; v Fig. 10 is a side elevational view, partly brokenl away, of a web feeding means illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 11 is a front view of the web feeding means illustrated in Fig. 10;

1Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line Fig. -14 is a perspective view and stripping means; Y

Fig. l5 is av perspective View of one form of punch; v

Fig. 1 6- is an enlarged sectional view illustratingV a slitter roller ratchet and pawl shown in Figsplr, 8 and 9; .v

Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line I'l-I'l-of Fig. 16;

Fig. -18 is a sectional view taken along the line Iv8-l8 of Fig.2;

. Fig. 19 is atop plan'viewrof a modied forni of punch holding means;

Y Fig. ZO-is a sectional view taken along the line 20-20 of Fig. 19; i

Fig. 21 is a sectional viewl vtaken along the line 2I-2I of Fig..20;

Fig. 22 isa top plan view illustrating a modi-I fied form of die holding means;

Fig. 23 is a sectional viewftaken along the line 23-'23 of Fig. 22;

Fig. 24 is a sectional view taken valong the line 24.-. 24 of` Fig. 23 ',V v

of `a web guiding Fig. 25 is an enlarged side elevational view illustrating a ratchet and pawl mechanism shown in Figs. l and 3;

Fig. 26 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified form of the invention; I

Fig. 27 is a sectional view taken along the line .2l-2l of Fig. 26;

Fig. 28 is a fragmentary plan view showing a modified form of adjusting means; and

Fig. 29 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 29-29 of Fig. 28.

A preferred embodiment of the machine will be described under the following headings (l) General description, (2) Web feeding mecha-A nism (3) Punching of longitudinal web, (4) Slitting of longitudinaI web, (5) Guiding of longitudinal strips, (6) Erection of longitudinal strips, ('7) shearing of longitudinal strips, (8) Feeding of web for transverse partitions, (9) Punching of transverse web, (10) Shearing of transverse web, (11) Seating of transverse partitions, (12) Control mechanism, (13) Modified web punching means, (14) Modified shearing of transverse web.

General description Described generally, the present machine comprises a frame or base I supporting the various mechanisms that remove paper webs from rolls and guide, punch, slit, transfer, shear and form the webs into partitions and nally assemble the .partitions into complete filler units (Fig. 6)

which may be placed into cartons or stored for future use.

Paper for forming the various partitions or wallsl of a ller unit is received in relatively large rolls (not shown). The rolls are preferably mounted upon an axle or bar and the bar thereafter supported on horizontally disposed frictionreducing means so that a web of paper may be enrolled as required by the machine. Two rolls are used simultaneously in the manufacture of the filler units, one roll providing the material for one set of partitions I (Fig. 6) and the other roll providing the material for a second set of partitions 2 (Fig. 6) which intersect the first set at an angle.

The paper web 4 from one roll (not shown) passes through the feeding device 5 shown at the right of Fig. l, thence through a punch and die mechanism l for forming appropriate apertures in the web, next between slitter rolls 8 which cut theweb into strips of desired width, thereafter beneath adjusting means or fingers I which control the movement and path of the strips out of the slitter rolls 1, between vertically disposed feed rollers II which are effective to turn or erect the strips to an on-edge position, and finally through a shearing mechanism I3, which is actuated at intervals to cut off the strips at the correct length.

The paper webv I4 from the secondroll (not shown) passes through the upper feed rollers of the `feeding device shown at the right of Fig. l, thence along the guide I6, downwardly between the feed rollers or wheel I1 shown at the upper part of the upright or vertical members at the left of the machine, and downwardly through the guide and stripper plate I9 where it isappropriately perforated by the horizontally reciprocating puncher 20.

Downwardly moving partitions formed from the web I4 are adapted to iit into cutouts or apertures formed in the previously mentioned strips or partitions formed from the web 4 and which move through the lower `part of the machine.

For purposes of convenience, the strips or partitions formed from the web 4 by the lower part of the machine will be referred to as the longitudinal partitions or strips and those formed from the web I4 and fitted into notches and grooves in the lower partitions will be referred to as the transverse partitions and strips.

The puncher 20 shown at the left side of the vertical members is carried by a head 22 which also supports a blade or knife 23 that is adapted to shear or cut off the web I4 to form transverse partitions 3 after the end of the web has been fitted into complementary grooves in the longitudinal partitions 2. The longitudinal strips advance in step by step relationship and the transverse strips are fitted into the complementary slits at appropriate intervals. When a predetermined length of longitudinal partition has passed through the machine, the shearing mechanism I3 is operated to cut off the longitudinal strips into partitions, succeeding strips push a completed filler unit forwardly beneath a tamping device 25 which is adapted to firmly seat the transverse partitions in the grooves or slits of the longitudinal partitions.

Completed iiller units move outwardly onto a catch table 26 from which they may be removed' Web feeding mechanism The feeding mechanism illustrated at the right of Fig. 1 and in Figs. 10, 11 and l2 is adapted to pull webs or lengths of paper from large rolls and to form slack loops thereof immediately in advance of entry of the webs into those parts of the machine which perform stamping and slitting operations; the large rolls of paper possess considerable inertia and feeding a web directly from such a roll into the machine presents objections, such as tearing of the paper. The slack loops formed by the feeding mechanism act as reservoirs from which lengths of paper may be drawn without tearing thereof.

A paper web 4 which forms the longitudinal partition passes from one roll of paper (not shown) over a lower driven feed roller 28 carried by the spaced uprights 29, 29' and is maintained in contact with the lower feed roller by an upper roller 3|, which rides against the upper surface of the web 4 and is urged downwardly into contact therewith by spaced resilient spring means 32 looped around supporting arms 34 of the upper contacting roller at one end and connected at their other ends with collars 35 flxedly secured to a supporting shaft 36 by set screws 31. The arms 34 are pinned to the shaft 36, the shaft 36 is supported by brackets or bearings fixed to the spaced uprights 29, 29. A third roller 38, mounted on a shaft 40 which is rigidly connected by side arms 42 with the shaft 36, and through the latter with the upper contacting roller 3|, is positioned beyond the feed rollers 28, 3I and is effective to guide the web 4 of paper into a loosely hanging loop between the roller 38 and its entry into a trough or guideway 43 of the machine.

The means for feeding a second web I4 of paper from a second roll is shown at the upper part of the spaced standards 2,9 and 29 of the paper feeding mechanism 5 and is constructed andoperates in a manner similar to that described for feeding the lower web 4.

Both sets of web feeding rollers are driven by an electric motor and belt (not shown) through a pulley wheel 45 (Fig. '7) keyed to the drive shaft 46, a second pulley wheel 48 also keyed to this shaft 46, and a drive belt 49. The drive belt 49 passes over the surface of a pulley 58 vkeyed to the driving shaft 5| of the lower setv of web feeding rollers, thence beneath an idler pulley 52 and over a pulley 53 keyed to the shaft 54 of the upper driving roller for the upper or transverse web I4 of paper. A flywheel 41 keyed tothe shaft 45 smooths out the operation of the machine in the usual manner.

The paper feeding device -is effective to pull webs of paper from the two'rolls thereof and to form it into slack loops immediately prior to entry of the webs into the cutting and stamping parts of the machine. rJhe driven rollers 28, 28' of the paper feeding device are rotated continually as long as the pulley 45 and drive shaft 46 lare rotated, and thus serve to supply `the paper continuously to the webs 4 and I4 for forming longitudinal and transverse partitions.

The lower web 4 for forming longitudinal partitions passes from its loop over a plate 56 supported on legs 51 and between spaced side lianges 58 which form the guideway or troughv 43 for directing the paper accurately to horizontal punches and dies 1. The paper may be held'down against the surface of the plate 5B by a board 59 which rests in the channel between the spaced angle members or flanges 58; aw-hite pine board has proven satisfactory for this purpose and it is preferably provided at opposite sides with outwardly projecting pins 6| adapted to extend through inclined slots 62in such manner as to maintain the board spacedslightly from the surface of the plate member 56.

Paper from the web i4 which is adapted tovbe formed into transverse partitions 3 (Fig. 6)-

passes through an elevated trough I6 formed by a bottom plate 62 and spaced angles 64. A second white pine board 65 may be provided for maintaining the web I4 in position at the bottom of the trough during movement thereof to-A ward feed rollers I1 and it mayhave outwardly projecting pins 61 at opposite sides thereof adapted to t into inclined slots 68 to thereby minimize movement of theboard with the web passing beneath it. i

Punching of longitudinal web v x From the lower guide trough 43 the lower web 4 of paper passes beneath a stripper plate 18' and `over the surface of diesp1| (Figs. 2, '7 and 8). At appropriate intervals reciprocable punches 12 move downwardly through openings in the stripper plate and the dies 1| to form perforations in the web of cardboard. The

openings formed in the longitudinal web are' shown at 13 and 14 in Fig. 5 and comprise, re-

tionsin assembled relationship; it is to be un" derstood that the shape or form of the particular perforations or slits formed in the webs may be varied as desired by utilizing. suitable punches and dies at the perforating stations of the ma- Y chine. The stripper plate serves to hold the web 4 in downward positionduring retraction ofthe punches` 12jfrom ,thepdiesandf the web.` Asi shown in Figs. 17 and 8, three sets of complementary punches and dies are shown at this station of the machine,` but it is to be understood The retaining frame 19 for the punches 12 is secured to a cross bar or punch head 82 which is fitted over spaced vertically positioned shafts 83` secured to the frame of the machine by nuts 84 and maintained in correctly spaced relationshipl attheir upper parts by a cross lbar 85. Vertical reciprocation of the punch head 82 with the punches 12 is achieved by the previously mentioned motor and belt (not shown) through the intermediation of pulley 45, shaft 4B, clutch 81,

pinion gear 88, gear 89 keyed to shaft 9|, eccen-` tries 92 keyed to the shaft 9|, yokes 93 extending` around the eccentrics 92, and spaced vertical shafts 94 and 94'. The punches 12 thus reciprocate continuously as long as the clutch 81 is operative to engage the pinion gear 88 with the drive shaft 4E. Preferably a raw-hide type pinion 88 is utilized to facilitate quiet operation of the pinion with the mating gear 89. f

Pieces punched out of the web 4 by the reciprocating punches 12 drop through the dies 1| and the framework of the machine which supports the die-retaining means 8| and fall to the iloor or into a chute, from moved.

Punching the apertures into the web 4 prior to slitting the web into separate partition strips insures accurate positioning of the apertures in the partitions.

From the above-described punch and die station 1 the web 4 passes to the slitter station 8, where the web is cut into partition strips of appropriate width or height.

slitting of longitudinal web,

The web of paper, cardboard, or other material which is fed through the punch and die stationv 1 is preferably sufficiently wide to form several partitions and the purpose of the slitters at the slitting station 8 is to sever the web into an appropriate number of strips and to do this along deflnite lines so that the perforations formed in the,Y

previous punching operation will be correctly positioned to receive transverse partitions (Fig. 5).

' The slitting operation is the web 4 between upper and lower slitter rollers 91 and 98 comprised of knives or cutter discs |90 and spacers lill mounted on shafts |02 and |83 respectively.. The shafts are supported in bearings |04 and |95 retained in position at opposite sides of the frame of the machine (Figs. 2, 8 and 9). The spacers lili serve to accurately position the circular knives of the slitter rollers which cooperate witheach other to slit a web into strips. It will be noted that a knife or cutter of one roller ts into a space or groove |91 on the along a definite line.-

The upper slitter roll'er191l may be maintained which they may be periodically reachieved by passing complete severance of'a web 4A in tangential relationship with the lower roller 98 by springs |08, the resiliency of which may be varied by an adjustable nut and bolt construction I 09 secured to the upper part. of the frame of the machine.

The upper roller 91 is operatively connected with and driven by the lower roller 9B through intermeshing gears and |I| secured to the respective roller shafts |02 and |03. The lower roller 98 is rotated by the same shaft 9| which actuates the punches at the punch and die station 1 previously described, through the intermediation of a disc H3 keyed to shaft 9|, connecting rod ||4 secured at one end to the disc I I3 and cooperating ratchet and pawl I I5 operatively connected with the shaft |03 of the lower slitter roller. As the disc |I3 revolves with the shaft 9|, it carries with it the lower end of connecting rod ||4 which is connected to a bearing or pin ||6 bolted to the disc. The upper end of the connecting rod I I4 is rotatably pinned or connected to an oscillatable disc ||1 (Fig. 17) rotatably mounted on the shaft |03 of the lower slitter roller 98. This latter disc I I1 has mounted therein a pawl member I I0 which is urged downwardly by a pawl spring ||9 and cooperates with a ratchet member keyed to the shaft |03; the construction is such as to achieve step by step movement of the lower slitter roller 98 in one direction. As the shaft 9| rotates and carries the lower end of the connecting rod H4 around with it, the upper end of this rod serves to oscillate the disc ||1 and causes the pawl ||8 mounted therein to slip over the teeth of the ratchet |20 when moved in a clockwise direction and to rotate the ratchet and shaft |03 with it when moved in a counter-clockwise direction. The size of the ratchet |20 and the number of teeth or steps thereon will depend upon the desired advance of the lower slitter roller 98 and the distance which it is desired to feed the web 4 or strips through the machine between the upper and lower slitter rollers. In the present instance ve steps are shown on the ratchet |20 as such has proven satisfactory in actual operation of the machine. It will be noted that one of these ratchet steps is of considerably greater circumferential length than the others and the purpose of this is to advance the web II or strips through the machine a greater distance in connection with a shearing operation which will be hereinafter described.

Both the slitter rollers 91 and 98 and the punches 12 at the preceding station are actuated from the same drive shaft 9| and the timing of the operations at each station is such that the punches perforate the web 4 at the correct instant and while the web is stationary.

Excessive movement of the slitter rollers, due to inertia, beyond the actual advance achieved by the pawl, and ratchet movement may be prevented by a brake band |22 which passes around a cylindrical member |23 secured to the shaft |03 and is retained in clamping relationship by an arm |24 secured to the frame I of the machine.

G/niding of longitudinal strips The paper web and strips pass through the slitter rollers in horizontal position and in connection with a succeeding operation to be later described, it is desirable that the several strips formed by the severing operation of the slitter rollers be turned to an erect or on-edge position; this is achieved by the feed rollers shown at the left of Fig. 2 and in Fig. 18.

; justment fingers In order to achieve most satisfactory operation of the slitter rollers 91 and 98, it is desirable that the web and strips be maintained in contact with the lower roller 98 for a distance be- `yond the point of tangency of the upper and lower rollers. Maintaining the strips thus in contact for a slight circumferential distance beyond the point of tangency provides an improved feed of paper between the rollers, minimizes a tendency to excessively twist or tear the strips and insures cleaner lines of severance by the knives |00 of the rollers.

The desirable contact of the strips with the rollers 01 and 0S may be achieved by utilizing the strip adjustment fingers |0 supported on a cross bar |21 held in position by arms |28 bolted to the upper part of the machine frame in which are mounted the slitter rollers. The adjustment fingers I0 are vertically adjustable by appropriate rotation of the nuts |29 secured to threaded portions of the shaft |30 of an adjustment finger. Rollers |31 mounted in yokes |32 by pins |33 are adapted to contact the upper surface of the strips which emerge from the rollers 91 and i 98. The lower edges of the rollers |3| are preferably positioned below the point of tangency of the upper and lower rollers 91 and 98 and the paper strips emerging from the rollers pass downwardly beneath the small rollers |3I of the ad- |0 and in this manner are obliged to travel for a short distance in contact with the surface of the lower slitter and feed roller 98.

Preferably the adjustment rollers |3| are turned slightly so that their longitudinal axes form an angle with the longitudinal axes of the slitter and feed rollers 91 and 98; this feature facilitates a smooth, even feed of the strips and a `gentle twisting or warping intermediate the transfer from the horizontal web p-osition at the slitter and feed rollers to the erect position of the vertically disposed rollers illustrated at the left of Fig. 2 and in Fig. 18.

Erection of longitudinal strips 1- number of longitudinal partitions utilized in manufacturing a particular filler.

The mechanism for turning the strips on edge comprises a roller mounting frame |35 having rollers |36 and |31 operatively assembled into apertures |38 and |40 in a lower cross bar |4| and in a top plate |42 of the frame. The top plate |42 may be secured by bolts or screws to the upper part of the frame |35. One of the rollers |36 of each pair has a shaft or axle thereof extending through the apertures |38 and is driven by a sprocket |43 pinned to the main drive shaft 4B through the intermediation of sprocket chain |44, sprocket |45 pinned to the shaft |46, bevel gear |41 pinned to the shaft |46, and intermeshing bevel gear |48.

The shafts of the rollers |31 which cooperate with the driven rollers |36, extend through bushings mounted in the slots or enlarged apertures |40, and these latter rollers |31 are urged into contact with the driven rollers |36 by resilimaar? -nt spring means secured adjacent one end |52 thereof to the frame |35 and top plate |42 and extending about grooves |53 in the shaft adjacent the other ends thereof. A strip of paper or cardboard for forming a longitudinal partition passes between the drivenV roller |36 and the jcontacting roller |31. The driving roller |36 is rotated continuously but at periods when lthe feed rollers 8 are not rotating to move the web Il forwardly through the machine, the vertical driving roller |36 slipsA against a' longitudinal partition; that is. the pairs of cooperatingvertical rollers tend to continually pull strips -through the machine but actual movement of the web and strips is controlled by the horizontally disposed slitter and feed rollers at a preceding station 8 which operate in step by step movement. f

Preferably the contacting surfaces of the rollers A|36 and |31 are of case-hardened metal. Partition strips passing through the various pairs of Yrollers are all advanced equal distances due to the fact that the same drive shaft |46 operates each of-V the driven rollers.

As the strips leave the vertical feed rollers,` the aligned slots and notches therein are adapted to v receive transverse partitions which cooperate 'with the notches to form a filler unit.,

Shearing ofu longitudinal strips tudinal partitions of fcorrect length. The length' of the partitions is dependent upon the size of the ller unit, which is in turn dependent upon the size of the particular carton or box into which the filler unit is tobe inserted.

The shearing mechanism comprises a shearV A holder block |56 having a V-shaped entry groove j |51'at one side thereof communicating with a narrow guide 'slot '|56' adapted to receive the vstrips from the vertical feed rollers and conduct 'them between the jaws of back'shear blades |59 and front shear blades |60, The back shear "blades |59 are bolted in fixed position to the exit side of the shear Vholder block |56 and the front shear blades |60 are pivotally connected with the 'shear holder block by pivot bolts |6| so that they vmay be moved in scissor-like fashion to outV off fthe partitions at'thecorrect instant. A spring I' |62 extending about the pivot bolts |6| is adapted to urge the front shear blades into close contact with the back shear blades. The number of pairs of shear blades will depend upon the number of partitions passing through the machine, and for 'illustrative purposesthree pairs are shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

` Pivotal movement of the front shear blades to cut off partition strips is achieved by rotation of a shear cam wheel |64 mounted on and keyed to 'ashaft |65. Rotation ofthe shaft |65 and cam .e wheel |66 moves the cam |66 into periodic contact with a roller |61 secured to one end of a shear arm |68 which is pivotally connected Yby |69 fto an adjustable shear block |10 carried on a .e shear arm bridge |1I the shear block |10 may be adjusted by turning the set screws |12. A pin |14 l' extending through an aperture or slot |15 at the ff upper end of the shear arm |68 connects the latter with the lower part of a shear base |16 and is effective to movethe shear base toward the left or right (Fig. 2) asthe cam |66 moves the lower g end of the shear arm |68. The lower ends of the front shear blades |60 are pivotally connected by bolts |11 with the shear baseV |16 and are thus operated in scissor-like fashion by pivoting about the bolts |6|| t Preferably the shear ibase |16 is supported in Ybrass" adjustment guides or blocks |18, retained j infpositionY within substantially U-shaped supporting members or hangers |19 by set screws |80. 4.This construction facilitates free movement of the `shear base |16 toward the left or right. A spring |82 connected vby an eyebolt |83 with the shear A'base,4 |16-and at, its opposite end to an eyebolt |84 -at oneV side of the machine is adapted to pull the shear base and the front shear blades to inoperative oropen position after the roller |61 has passed beyond .the operating surface of the cam It is desirable that the shear operating shaft i et be actuated in timed readership with movezo ment .of-partition strips through the machine. This is Vobtained byla pawl-carrying disc |85 oscillatably mounted adjacent-one end of the shaft |65, the disc |85 being rocked or oscillated in to and fro motion about the axis of shaft |65 by la connecting rod |86 connected with a pin |81 on the disc |85 and at the other end thereof withi an annular pawl-carrying disc ||1' of the slitter and feed rollers (Figs. 1 and 17). As the disc |85` oscillates to and fro, it actuates the shaft |65 through the intermediation of rthe pawl |88 carried thereon which cooperates with the ratchet |69 mounted on the shear cam shaft Thus the step by step movement of the slitter and feed roller disc |1 effects corresponding movement of the shear cam wheel |64.

Excessive movement of the sheer cam shaft |85 due to inertia is minimized or prevented by `a brakeI band 9| extending about a drum or disc |92l fastened to the shaft |65 and connected at the opposite end |93 thereof with the frame y of the machine.

It will be noted (Fig. 6) that there are no slots .or notches in the longitudinal filler partitions 2 adjacent the cut-olf ends thereof. The

slots'and notches are desirable only at those portions of the partitions which are adapted to receive and cooperate with complementary notches and projections in theV transverse par- Y titions.. Elimination of the slots or notches in providing-a single relatively long step |94 on f the ratchet |20 which is keyed to the lower slitter and feed roller shaft |03 (Fig. 17). When `the pawl ||8 cooperates with the ratchet |20 of theV lower .slitter roller it rotates this roller Y through a certain numfber of degrees, depending uponthe number and width of teeth provided at the periphery of the ratchet |20. It will be noted that one of the teeth |94 of this ratchet f |20 has a relativelylong peripheral length, which means that the pawl ||8 will slide over the surface of this toothyand upon counter-clockwise motionof theqannular pawl disc ||1 will pull y the ratchet and lower feed roller through a relatively greater arc than is true where the pawl cooperatesV with the. shorter or narrower teeth of the ratchet. z During the long forward movement of this step |94 the vertically reciprocating punches 12 at the punch and die station 1 are inan elevated position and a greater length *'of material -moves beneath them than occurs where atooth of lesser size is engaged by the pawl I8, The.; punches are elevated by the eccentric 92 which serves to move the actuating ',s'hafts 94 and 94.-

The front shear blades connected with the yshear operating shaft |65 are effective to cut l io'ff vertically disposed partition strips at the instant when the shaft |93 of lower slitter and 'feed roller has moved approximately one-half fthe distance of the movement caused by the relatively long tooth |94 of the ratchet |20. Thus fit will be seen that the shear blades shown adjacent the outlet end of the machine and feed rollers shown at the station 8 cooperate to pro- Yvide longitudinal partitions not having slots and notches at their extreme ends. A

As the longitudinal partition strips emerge' from the space between the shear blades, they enter paper guide |95 secured by angle members |796 to the transverse shear guide bar |91. These guides |95 maintain the longitudinal partitions in 'alignment 'with the shears and facilitate theA shearing action, in addition to maintaining them Yin upright position for cooperation with transverse partitions.

As the strips or partitions emerge from the `paper guides, the notches and locking recesses inthem are adapted vto receive transverse partitions moving downwardly vertically from the portion of the machine positioned above the paper guides. The mechanism for forming the transverse partitions will 'now be described.

Feeding of web fo1` transverse partitions It is pointed out in connection with the general description that web I4 of paper or cardboard for forming transverse partitions was received from a large roller of paper (not shown) and pulled into the machine by the feed rollers shown at the upper part of the standards 29 at the right of the machine (Fig. l) This feeding device forms the paper into a slack loop and thev web I4 from the slack loop passes upwardly through a guide channel formed by the spaced angle members 64 and the white pine board 65,

` which serves to maintain the web I4 in fiat pothrough the intermediation of disc 204, connecting rod 205, pin 296, disc 201, paWl 208, and ratchet 209 keyed to the shaft 200. The shaft 290 has a gear 2|I pinned thereto that meshes with a gear 2|2 on the shaft |99 to rotate the latter shaft. Undesirable rotation due to inertia of the moving parts is minimized by a brake rband 2M (Fig. 4) which extends around a brake wheel 2|5 pinned to the shaft 200; one end of the brakeA band 2|4 is adjustably connected with an arm 2|9 bolted to the frame of the machine at one side thereof.

A guard 2|1 preferably extends over the' upper portions of the feed rollers to minimize the possibility of injury to the hands of an operator and to prevent foreign objects from falling into the operating parts of the machine.

In order to facilitate initial entry of a web I4 between the pair of feed rolls |98 carried by the 'shafts |99 and v20|), it is desirable that the shafts |99 and 290 be separable from each other. This may be obtained by meansA of a handle 2|1 extending through a block 2 |3v and keyed to a shaft ZIB, the latter extending through and vbeing keyed to eccentrics 2|9 located at opposite ends of the shaft; projections on the eccentric 2| 9 extend through openings at one end of pull links 220 also located adjacent ends of the shaft 2|8 and openings at the opposite ends of the pull links 220 fit around bushings through which extends the shaft |99. As shown in Figs. l and 2 the feed rolls |98 are close together and handle 2|1 is in position against the stop pin 22|; when the handle 2|1 is moved to the right it rotates shaft 2|8 and eccentric 2|9 keyed thereto and moves the pull links. 220 toward the right. Since the pull links 229 are connected at their opposite ends with the shaft |99 this shaft, the feed rolls mounted on it, and the bearing housings P2-2 are moved slightly to the right to thus separate the feed rollers of shaft |99 from those of shaft 290 and facilitate entry of a web between the rolls. Movement of the block to the right may be limited by a set screw 223 to thus limit separation of the feed rollers |98.

From the feed rollers |98 the web I4 of paper passes downwardly between the spaced sides of a guide member or stripper plate 225 (Figs. 2 and 14).

Punching of transverse web The combined guiding member and stripper plate 225 conducts the paper web past horizontally reciprocating punches 20, which are projectable through the stripper plate 225 and dies 221, to thereby form perforations in the web. The perforations formed 'in this web I4 are of such nature as to suitably cooperate with the slots and perforations inthe longitudinal partitions 2 (Fig. 5).

As shown by Figs. 5 and 15, each transverse partition 3 is provided with a plurality of spaced vertical slots 16 connected with divergent slots 11 to form tab portions 15. The vertical slots 16 of a transverse 'partition 3 is adapted to fit into a complementary vertical slot 13 of a longitudinal partition 2 and the tab portion 15 is adapted to fit into the T-shaped notch or aperture 14 in the longitudinal partitions to thereby interlock the transverse and longitudinal partitions and minimize accidental separation thereof. The particular slots and perforations shown are illustrative merely and any suitable ones may be utilized. The punches may face in opposite directions, Fig. 4, to insure against accidental vseparation of partitions.

The dies for forming the slots and tabs in the transverse partitions 3 'are shown bolted to a die plate 228 in turn bolted to the bridge member 229 and the openings through the dies are in registry with enlarged slots or openings 230 through the vertical portion of the bridge member so that pieces punched out of the web I4 may pass freely therethrough.

The plurality of punches 20 adapted to form the perforations in the downwardly moving Web are bolted to a plate lor frame 23|, which is in turn bolted to the punch head 232 so as to reciprocate with it. The punch head 232 reciprocates to and fro horizontally in guideways 234 of spaced guide frame member 239 and moves the punches to form the perforations in the web. The portions knocked out of the web fall into a chamber 'ia-'seguir and lthe punches 20 is achieved nbyconnecting rods 235 secured to a cross shaft `235i which -is pivotally mounted in flanges 237 of the punch head. The lower ends of the connecting rods 235 are bolted to yckes 23S which are oscillated or reciprocated by eccentrics keyed to the shaft Si.

The vertically moving web i4 travels downwardly in step by step movement between the punches and dies. Itis stationary during the punching operation and is so coordinated' with the movement of the longitudinal partitions that the complementary slots, perforations and tabs interlock with each other. I It will be understood thatthe web moves downwardly during the intervalthat the punches 2i) and dies 226 are in separated relationship. 'When the lower edge of the web Y.i4 has moved downwardly into complementary slots in the longitudinal partitions 2 it must be Acut off, and the longitudinal partitions advanced one step forwardly so that the next succeeding downwardly moving `partition may fit into succeeding slots of the longitudinal partitions. The mechanism for cutting l off or shearing the web I4 will next be described.

Shearz'ng of transverse `web shearing of the web toform transverse partitions 3 is accomplished by cooperating shear :.blades, 240 and 24| bolted to the bridge member 229 and punch headv 232. As shown in` Figs. 2

and 4,7the blade 240 carried by the punch head 232 moves to and fro with the punch head during .the rformation of perforations in the web l4,by punches v2li. The blade 246 slides closely over the .,uppersurface of the shear member 24! secured to the bridge 229 and pushes the clearance knife bar 242 inwardlyin opposition tothe-'knife clearance spring 243. The knife clearance spring. 243

, and knife barV 242 insure removal of stray pieces of paper or cardboard from adjacent the shearing edges of the blades, andthe forward edge of nthe knife bar `242 tends to support the back edge Y of the web I4 during engagement of the edge ofthe blade 24@ with theweb. Y

Preferably each of the knife blades comprisesa the right moves to the right, the punching'and Ishearing operations are again repeated. This operation f continues as long as the machine is in operation yfand a paper web i4 "plate 225. 1

fed down throughfthe stripper Seating of transverse partitions As the longitudinal partitions move forwardly "and carry with them the transverse partitions, it

is desirable that means bev provided for insuring 7 that the transverse partitions are moved fully downward in the slits rof the longitudinal partitions. As shown in the drawings (Figs. 2 and 13) this is accomplis-hed by a tamping mechanism" located beyond the shear blade 24.-

The tamping mechanism comprises a horizontally disposed shoe 25 bolted or otherwise' secured to an upright memberl or-plate 'holder 246 --onnectedby a link 24T with an -a-rm '-248' vkeyed to ashaft 249 which is supported at opposite sides thereof in apertures of the punch head 232. .An arm 253 secured to one end of the shaft 249 is adapted to contact a stop member 252 fixedly'securedrto the frame of the machine at one side thereof. As the punch head 232 moves toward the .right (Fig. 2) one end of the'strip arm or lever member -250 moves into contact with the end of the stop member 252 and as movement of the punch head toward the right continues the triparm 250 is rotated in counter-clockwise direction to correspondingly rotate the shaft 243 and the arm 248, which is Xedly secured thereto.

VThis counter-clockwise rotation of the arm 248 is feifective to turn the arm 250 in clockwise direction and thus raise the upright member 24E and shoe 25 completed nner units are fed` outwardly onto the. catch table 2S, from which they may be relmoved and positioned in cartons or folded together and stored for future use.

The preferred embodiment of the machine described in detail hereinabove is particularly adapted to the manufacture of ller units comprising three longitudinal and ve transverse partitions;

vthis provides a ller which, when assembled with a carton, forms twenty-four separate cells or pockets for containing articles.

A large variety of ller units may be manufactured by changing the mechanisms at the different stations which form and assemble the longitudinal and transverse partitions. For example,

a ller unit with thirty-six pockets or cells may be manufactured by utilizing ve sets of complementary punches and dies at perforating station No. 7 and slitters at station No. 8 for cutting a longitudinal web 4 into ve partition strips; the ve longitudinal partitions will cooperate with ve transverse partitions to form thirty-six cells.

When the punches and dies and slitters at stations Nos. 7 and 8 are changed so as to form only two longitudinal partitions, five transverse .partitions may be assembled with them to give a unit with only eighteen cells` If three longitudinal partitions are manufactured and two transverse partitions assembled 1 therewith the resulting filler unit may have twelve cells.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that a large number of different size ller units may be manufactured by making appropriate changes in the number of partitions. This may be done by changing both the mechanisms which form i the longitudinal and transverse partitions.

. byutilizing suitable ratchets.

vDesirable diiferences in feed of the mechanisms at the different stations or locations may be made Control mechanism 1t is important that the operator of the machine be provided with readily accessible control means for starting and stopping the operation of the machine. In the present instance, this desirable feature is achieved by a control lever 251 pivotally secured to the frame of the machine adjacent the operators station which is connected by a longitudinal connecting rod 258 with a bell crank 259 pivotally secured to a bracket 250 at the opposite end of the machine. One end of the bell crank member 259 is pivotally connected with the end of the control rod 258 and the other arm thereof is pivotally connected with a cross shaft 26| which is in turn movably pinned to the upper end of a lever member 262. The levermember 262 is pivotally connected at the lower part thereof with the frame of the machine and adjacent the midportion thereof lwith mechanism for operating the clutch 31 (Fig. 7).

When the control handle 256 of the rod 251 is in the position shown in Fig. 1, the clutch, which may be of any convenient construction, is in disconnected relationship so that the pinion gear 88 is stationary. Since the pinion gear 88 is stationary, this means that the large gear 89 which operates the various mechanisms at the different stations of the machine is likewise stationary, and the machine is at rest. When the handle 256 is moved toward the left (Fig. l), the connecting rod 258 moves the lever arm 262 so as to bring the parts of the clutch 81 into engagement; this means that the rotating shaft 46 will be connected through the clutch 81 with the pinion gear 88 and the latter is thus effective to put the machine into operation.

The control rod 251 is positioned closely adjacent to the station generally occupied by the machine operator who will normally be at the catch table 26 to remove the partitions from the machine and fold and tie them into bundles.

Modified web punching mear/is It is desirable in some instances to provide means for mounting punches and dies which are adapted to greater exibility of use than those previously described in connection with the pun-ches and dies for perforating the longitudinally and transversely moving webs 4 and I4.

In Figs. 19, and 2l there is illustrated a punch plate or frame 265 for mounting punches 266 in an innite number of positions. The frame or plate member 265 is provided with a longitudinal aperture 261 extending therethrough and a groove or slot 253 adjacent the aperture 261. The rpunches 266 of this modified form of retaining frame are adapted to fit into a groove 269 and to receive bolts 216 which extend through the Y aperture 261 and have their heads located within the groove 26B beneath the upper surface of the plate 4265. When the bolts` are tightened the punches are retained securely in a given position; when it is desired to change the spacing of the punches or use a greater or less number, the bolts may be loosened and the desired number of punches may be spaced at correct intervals by .sliding tlieshenk portions cf the bolts `along the member the shanks of bolts 214 extend through a .longitudinal aperture. 2.15 and have their heads located below the outer surface of the plate. The bolts 214 may be tightened to hold the parts 'of the die in any desired position and the dies may be readily shifted or adjusted to new positions by loosening the bolts and sliding them with the dies through the grooves 215, after which they may be tightened to hold the dies in position.

Adjustment of both punches and dies may be simultaneously achieved by loosening the bolts 216 and 214 which retain the punches and dies in position, lowering the punches 266 into the dies and sliding the punches to the desired position while projecting through the apertures in the dies, after which the bolts of both the punches and dies can be tightened. In this manner the dies are readily maintained in alignment with the punches.

M odied shearing of vertical web In Figs. 26 and 2'1 there is illustrated a modified form of the invention which may be utilized to manufacture a plurality of ller units at the same time. That is, the construction shown in these figures is adapted to manufacture a plurality of filler units for use in different cartons or boxes, the filler units may or may not be of the same size.

For purposes of illustration this modication has 'been shown as embodied in a horizontally reciprocating bridge member 232 having bolted thereto a punch frame or plate 23m carrying punches 20a. The punches 20a are adapted to form perforations in the downwardly moving transverse web in the same manner as described in connection with the preferred embodiment. Four punches are shown in Fig. 26 but any suitable number may be utilized.

A downwardly moving web is adapted to nt into the usual slots of horizontally moving longitudinal partitions (four as shown in Fig. 26) to form a filler unit similarly to the manner as described in the preferred embodiment, but the transverse partition is severed vertically between adjacent punch members 20a by a knife or shear blade 218 bolted to the punch plate 23|a. As the punch frame 23Ia reciprocates to and fro with the punch head 232, the knife or blade 218 carried by the punch head slits or severs a transverse web along a vertical line so that the downwardly moving web which leaves the horizontally reciprocating punch and die members is thus formed into two separate transverse strips or partitions. The two separate partitions assemble with longitudinal partitions in the same manner as previously described in the preferred embodiment and the tamping shoe 25 seats them fully downwardly in like manner.

Preferably the distance between the shear blade 218 and adjacent punches is approximately the saine as that between these adjacent punches and other punches carried by the punch head. This construction provides outermost cells of a filler unit with cell Walls equal in'width to those of interiorly located cells and assists in centering a filler within a carton.

The two ller units thus formed pass outwardly onto the catch table 26, as previously described.

The combined stripper plate and guide unit 225a and the bridge member 229 are provided with elongated aligned apertures or openings for receiving the vertically positioned slitter 218 upon Y movement-thereof toward the right.

The provision of the shear member 218 provides for greater flexibility in the use of the ma- 

